BOOK REVIEWS

Easy Gardening
Recipes for Successful Planting

Miranda Beaufort and Jane Nicholas
Published by Frances Lincoln
$NZ59.95
Reviewed by Mike Gowing

GARDENERS tend to shrink from titles with the word "easy" in them, but in this case the adjective refers to plant selection and grouping rather than nurturing plants. Plant selection is an aspect of gardening that many of us struggle with and need all the help we can get.

The British authors, designers who work in "English garden" tradition, have come up with beds with some 40 different sets of conditions and have chosen a mix of plants and colours to suit each of these beds. The recipes they offer apply to a wide range of sites and soils, many of which will be familiar to Kiwi readers.

Among the strengths of the book is its clear layout. We get a colourful planting plan for each 4m by 2m bed with a key clarifying plant placement. On the facing page there's a gallery of photos portraying each of the recommended plants. The qualities and the conditions favoured by the selected plants are outlined, as well as the care they need. Each section also has a list of what else could be planted in that particular site.

If you're bewildered by your borders this spring, Easy Gardening, despite its rather hefty price, may help you to fill the gap.

Reproduced with permission from the former Weekend Gardener magazine. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the RNZIH